Corinthians’ involvement in CPI investigation

A complex situation involving sponsorship contracts with betting companies, known as bets, placed Corinthians in the confidential files of the INSS Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI), which investigates irregular discounts on pensions and social security benefits. Although the football club is not suspected of participating in the undue discounts, its name appears in the records due to a million-dollar payment made to one of those investigated.

THE CPIby breaking tax secrecy in series, expanded the possibility of receiving information about people or entities that are not the direct focus of the investigation. Corinthians was mentioned in a confidential report on transactions by the firm Nelson Wilians Advogados, prepared by the Financial Activities Control Council (Coaf) at the request of the CPI, to which Folha de S.Paulo had access. The document records a transfer of R$4 million from Corinthians to the law firm.

Financial relationships under suspicion

The authorities conducting the investigations suspect that Nelson Wilians, owner of the law firm, is involved in the scheme of irregular pension deductions. He remains close to businessman Maurício Camisotti, identified as one of the beneficiaries of the discounts. The investigation suggests that the two have financial relationships.

The Corinthians press office and Nelson Wilians’ office claim that the transfer of R$4 million refers to the payment of legal fees. The office represented the digital betting house PixBet in a contractual dispute with the São Paulo club.

Contractual disagreements and terminations

THE PixBet it was one of Corinthians’ sponsors and displayed its brand on the club’s shirt. However, the contract was terminated at the beginning of 2024, after Corinthians signed an agreement with another betting company, Vai de Bet. The new sponsorship, which promised to be the biggest in Brazil, did not materialize in the following months.

Despite the termination, the debt with the previous partner, PixBet, remained. Corinthians agreed to pay R$40 million in installments to the company, in addition to paying Nelson Wilians’ office fees as part of the financial adjustment. These values ​​were published at the time.

CPI and investigations into Nelson Wilians

Nelson Wilians is one of the main targets of INSS CPI. The collegiate requested a report on his transactions from Coaf, broke his banking and tax secrecy and even recommended his preventive detention. However, the decision whether or not to arrest the lawyer is up to the Court. He has already given a statement to the commission, denying any irregularities.

The report on the Sem Desconto operation, the first against INSS fraud, listed atypical financial transactions linked to Wilians, which would total R$4.6 billion. Subsequently, the Federal Police carried out a search and seizure at the lawyer’s residence, where sculptures and works of art were confiscated, including a painting by Di Cavalcanti.

Arrest of those involved and defense of Wilians

Maurício Camisotti was arrested in the same operation that targeted Nelson Wilians. Another detainee was Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes, known as ‘Careca do INSS’, who became a central figure in the scandal of discounts on social security benefits.

Nelson Wilians’ defense, in addition to clarifying that Corinthians’ transfer was related to legal fees, criticized the leak of confidential information. In a note, lawyer Santiago Schunck stated that the lawyer’s data appears to already be in the public domain and that the disclosure of information protected by tax and banking secrecy is serious, violating the principle of confidentiality that should guide any investigation. He reinforced that Wilians is the target of a defamatory campaign based on selective leaks.

The disclosure of information protected by tax and banking secrecy is serious and violates the principle of confidentiality that should guide any investigation.

Name	Involvement	Current Situation
Nelson Wilians	Suspected of INSS fraud	Denied irregularities in testimony
Maurício Camisotti	Beneficiary of irregular discounts	Arrested
Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes	Known as ‘INSS Baldy’	Arrested

An operation carried out by the FBI arrested player Terry Rozier, from the Miami Heat, and coach Chauncey Billups, from the Portland Trail Blazers, on Thursday morning (23). NBA. The operation is part of an investigation into a betting and game manipulation scheme, which even includes ties to the mafia, sources told Shams Charania of ESPN.

According to the FBI, 31 people are in custody, while others are expected to voluntarily surrender. Rozier was arrested at a hotel in Orlando, Florida. Billups’ arrest took place in Oregon and was made as part of a case linked to an illegal operation in poker games, according to the American channel ABC News.

The investigation, which has been going on for years, revealed the existence of a group in the NBA focused on manipulating results. The scheme lasted from 2022 to 2024 and involved millions of dollars in illicit profits, US authorities said.

Although the arrests stemmed from two separate indictments, some defendants were charged in both cases, said prosecutor Joseph Nocella, including former Clevenland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones.

Schema Details

According to Nocella, the case is one of the most daring sports corruption schemes since the legalization of online sports betting in the USA. The fraud took advantage of confidential information from NBA athletes and teams. In addition to the 31 individuals already detained, other former professional athletes are also accused of manipulating poker games using chips.

Among the accused, three people, including Damon Jones, Eric Earnest and Shane Hennen, are involved in both gambling and betting manipulation cases. Detroit Pistons player Malik Beasley is also under investigation, according to AP sources. Beasley has been absent from his team’s recent matches due to the ongoing investigations.

According to the investigation, bookmakers in several American states flagged suspicious data in Rozier’s statistics before the game between Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans, on March 23, 2023, when he was still playing for the Charlotte Hornets. In the match in question, Rozier claimed a foot injury after just ten minutes of play, an event that raised additional suspicion due to his absence from subsequent games.

Mafia Connections and Poker Operations

The investigation revealed that the NBA betting scheme exploited inside information about when specific players would not play or leave games citing injuries. This information was obtained through long-standing friendships with players and coaches in the league, and in some cases, through threats, as in the case of Jontay Porter, former center of the Toronto Raptors, who has already been sued and banned from the NBA.

In regards to the poker scheme, the suspects set up a technologically sophisticated operation utilizing custom shuffling machines, barcoded decks of cards and hidden cameras. Coach Chauncey Billups and others were recruited to give the games an appearance of legitimacy, deceiving victims into believing they were participating in fair matches.

Among the defendants in the poker scheme are 13 members and associates of the Bonanno, Gambino and Genovese families, three of the five mafias that dominate organized crime in New York. The amount gained by the gang has already exceeded US$7 million, with one of the victims losing a total of US$1.8 million.

The NBA has not yet officially commented on the most recent arrests, but the impact on the league’s reputation and fan confidence is undeniable. As the investigation continues, more details are expected to come to light, possibly involving other players and coaches.

THE Minister of SportsAndré Fufuca, signed this Wednesday (22) a cooperation agreement with the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), with the aim of strengthening the fight against the manipulation of sports results in the country and promoting responsible practices in the exploration of the lottery modality of fixed-odd betting.

“This agreement aims to consolidate a cooperation network with the main actors in the regulated sector, to ensure that the growth of the betting market is aligned with ethics, transparency and protection of the integrity of sporting competitions”, stated the minister.

For the national secretary of Sports Betting and Economic Development of Sports, Giovanni Rocco, this legal instrument will enable joint construction with the market.

“The signing of this cooperation agreement is very important, because it gives us the conditions for a closer dialogue with the regulated market, with companies that want to work within the law and with the capacity to create educational campaigns, train operators, and also combat the manipulation of results”, he highlighted.

Signed through the National Secretariat for Sports Betting and Economic Development of Sport (Snaede), the partnership does not involve the transfer of financial resources and is aligned with the guidelines of the General Sports Law (Law nº 14,597/2023), Law nº 14,790/2023 and Decree nº 12,110/2024, which gives the secretariat the authority to articulate measures to prevent the manipulation of results and to monitor the fixed odds betting activity in Brazil.

Joint actions

The document foresees the carrying out of educational campaigns on match manipulation and responsible gaming, training of operators, exchange of methodologies and technical information, in addition to the production of joint studies and reports. The execution of the actions will be monitored by representatives formally designated by both participants.

The agreement will be valid for 60 months. Also participating in the meeting were the president of ANJL, Plínio Augusto Lemos Jorge; the director of Monitoring and Evaluation of Sports Betting, in replacement, Emerson Melo; and the association’s legal director, Pietro Lorenzoni.

At 44 years old, paracyclist Sabrina Custódia da Silva became the first Brazilian world record holder in the history of the sport and, as a bonus, won the gold medal in the World Championship held at the Olympic velodrome in Rio de Janeiro. On Thursday night (16), she was champion of the 1 kilometer time trial in the WC2 class (competitors with physical-motor disabilities), with a record time of 1min20s020. The silver went to the Swiss Flurina Rigling and the bronze to the German with Maike Hausberger.

“The time has come, and it wasn’t just the world title, there was the world record! It’s a lot of emotion for just one day. I trained a lot this year, I prepared a lot to reach this moment. But even though I knew I was ready, the penny hasn’t sunk in yet”, said the São José dos Campos native, who last year had already won silver at the World Championships.

Women C2 1km Time Trial podium

Sabrina Custodia da Silva
Flurina Rigling
Maike Hausberger

2025 UCI #ParaCycling Track World Championships
#Rio2025 pic.twitter.com/vdiBaEPjt0

— UCI Para-Cycling (@UCI_paracycling) October 16, 2025

Brazil also secured silver with Victória Barbosa in the sprint in the W1 category (athletes with physical-motor disabilities). She was leading the race, but ended up being overtaken in the decisive lap by Australian Tahlia Clayton-Goodie, who won gold.

Another highlight on the first day of the World Cup was the debut of Jerusa Geber, multiple champion in Paralympic athletics, who competed in the mixed 750m time trial on the tandem bike (tandem). She competed with Carolina Barbosa, alongside the duo of Bruno Bonfim dos Santos and pilot Endrigo Rosa. In the qualifiers they came in fifth place and did not advance to the final.

The track paracycling World Cup runs until Sunday (19), with free entry. On Saturday (18), there are tests in the morning – starting at 10 am (Brasília time) and in the afternoon. On Sunday (19), the disputes start at 9am.

Vitória achieved an important victory in the fight to leave the relegation zone of the Brazilian Championship. Playing at the Barradão stadium, in Salvador, Leão da Barra defeated Bahia 2-1, on Thursday night (16), in the 28th round of the competition.

VICTORY OF VICTORYAAAAAA!

CLASSIC WIN! And with goals from Renato Kayzer and Raul Cáceres, Leão beat their rival 2-1.

Rubro-Negro from Bahia will now duel with Santos in a 6-point match, next Monday, 20th, in Vila Belmiro, at 9:30 pm.

Victor Ferreira… pic.twitter.com/ilsOgkowYY

— EC Vitória (@ECVitoria) October 17, 2025

With the triumph, Rubro-Negro remains in 17th place, but now with 28 points. Bahia remains with 43 points, in 6th place.

The first half of the Bahian classic was very balanced, with opportunities created from side to side. In the 24th minute, the home team managed to open the scoring, with a penalty goal from center forward Renato Kayzer. But Bahia needed just 15 minutes to equalize, with a beautiful goal from striker Tiago.

In the final stage, at 18 minutes, a ball crossed by Ramon deflected off Rezende and fell to Raúl Cáceres, who did not forgive Ronaldo to guarantee Leão da Barra’s triumph.

Other results:

Grêmio 2 x 0 São Paulo
Fluminense 1 x 0 Youth